Jones County’s Board of Health held its quarterly meeting last week with flu shots and food service inspections among its agenda items.

Before board members started on the agenda, County Commission Chairman Preston Hawkins, who because of his position is also a Board of Health member, asked about a dog that is being held in quarantine due to an incident with a wild raccoon.

Environmental specialist supervisor Carla Coley explained, for the protection of the public, an animal exposed to possible rabies, in this case from a wild animal that ran into the woods and could not be tested, the dog must be held in quarantine for six months.

Hawkins asked why the dog could not be kept at the Jones County animal shelter, and Coley said it could be. The problem is space because the quarantined dog would have to be kept completely separate from the other dogs, which means an empty kennel on each side.

Hawkins said at this time the dog is being held at a local veterinary office, and it is costing a lot of money.

Environmental specialist Floyd Comer noted that, if the dog had been vaccinated against rabies before encountering the raccoon, the cost of the shot is about $15.